DIY Driving Safety Tips

It’s nice to know that if you’re a subscriber to Cartrack, you have peace of mind that there is a 93% chance that your vehicle will be recovered in a theft situation. However, there is always the desire to decrease the odds even further of your “baby” being nabbed by greedy car thieves. Luckily, there are actually a few “do-it-yourself” (DIY) ways in which you can increase vehicle security for your vehicle.

Here are a few tips:

A Baby Monitor

While at first, this may seem like a silly idea, you’ll soon realise that placing a wireless video baby monitor in your car or even in your garage is an ingenious idea. These monitors are relatively inexpensive, have audio and night-vision and offer you round-the-clock footage of any undesirable activity. Best of all, they are completely portable as opposed to a security camera. I will also serve as a useful deterrent, as the mere sight of a baby monitor could create confusion and make thieves think twice about targeting your vehicle, especially as they don’t want to draw attention to themselves.

Pull the Plug on Car Thieves

It seems like quite a rudimentary security option, but a quick tug on a spark plug wire is often a highly effective security measure against vehicle theft. When this occurs, the vehicle will not start, thereby deterring a thief reluctant when trying to hotwire an older vehicle. This tactic especially works well when you park your cars in crowded, open areas.  Most often, vehicle thieves are in a rush and don’t have time to peek under the hood and ascertain whether everything is in working order. However, you should take note that modern vehicles usually have coil plugs, which means you may have to use a tool kit.

Give Car Thieves the Boot

At first glance, the idea of putting a boot lock on your car’s tyre may sound preposterous, but this DIY tactic actually works pretty well. Potential vehicle thieves will probably not want to go through the effort of removing the boot, and will also be doubly worried about raising the suspicion of the authorities, as a boot on a tyre usually indicates that the vehicle has been impounded for some reason.  However, if you are going to buy a wheel boot lock, be careful when attaching it, as they are known to mess up alloy wheels if not placed on correctly.

Engage the Switch rendering the vehicle useless

Installing a set of hidden kill switches is a particularly effective DIY vehicle security method as it will render the vehicle useless and keep would-be-thieves guessing. In fact, if there are multiple kill switches hidden in the car, they will probably get frustrated and give up o trying to work out where these switches are. The only catch is that this method will require you to have some electrical wiring skill. However, if it is properly executed, it can prove to be highly effective.

Use Common Sense

Probably the easiest way to implement DIY security when it comes to your vehicle is to simply take the right option in various circumstances. For example, always park in well-lit areas where there are lots of other cars around, which always lowers the odds of theft. It also goes without saying that you should try to avoid isolated areas. If you are parking on the street, try to snuggle up close to a barrier or lamp post with your wheel facing the curb, as this makes it difficult for a thief to push a car once they realise it won’t start.

It’s still always best to have a world-class recovery company covering your back, so click here if you haven’t got vehicle recovery coverage yet from Cartrack.